Bob Frantz: Johnny Manziel's Las Vegas trip does not show lack of commitment

“I’m very surprised actually that it’s actually a story. I’ve been here every day working extremely hard ... trying to earn my place and do what I need to do. For me to get a free weekend to spend some time with friends and family of mine, and relax and have fun, and get away from the grind a little bit ... I don’t really feel that’s a story.” — Johnny Manziel
Sorry, Johnny. But when your last name is “Football,” everything is a story.
Even stories that aren’t.
The Browns’ rookie quarterback appeared to be in part “damage control” and part “my critics can stuff it” mode on May 28 at the team’s OTAs in Berea, following a long Memorial Day weekend of fun in Las Vegas.
I prefer the “stuff it” mode, because there was no damage that needed to be controlled. Or at least there shouldn’t have been.
Far too many Browns fans and certainly Cleveland media-types have made a point of questioning Manziel’s commitment to his team after making his trip westward over the holiday weekend. Apparently “time off” means something different for the rest of the Browns’ roster, and for the general population, than it does for high-profile rookie quarterbacks in Cleveland.
In case you missed the details, Manziel didn’t pick Vegas simply because it’s “Sin City” and he was in the mood to commit some sins. He didn’t spring to the airport the moment his coach’s back was turned like a kid from the school building on the first day of summer break. He went to Vegas for a UFC fight card, which in years past would have been the equivalent of a heavyweight championship boxing match. He also attended a pool party, where he was photographed with Patriots’ tight end Rob Gronkowski, and — gasp! — women in bathing suits.
Quite a major scandal, huh? I mean, celebrity actors, athletes, and musicians, have never gone to big fights in Las Vegas or Atlantic City, right? That never happens.
Celebrity or not, how many people do you think would turn down ringside seats to a great boxing match or UFC card?
And while we’re at it, how many people, when in a warm-weather town like Las Vegas for a big fight, wouldn’t hit a pool party, too? None? I agree.
So why is this kid, just because he won a Heisman Trophy as a freshman and has a catchy nickname, judged so harshly for doing the same thing each and every one of us would do? He’s a 21-year-old with money, a connection to UFC power-broker Dana White, and a few days off work — and he’s being criticized for taking advantage of those things?
“I knew going into it that I can’t go anywhere without people knowing that I’m there, tweeting that I’m there, or whatever,”
Manziel said on May 28, “Fair or unfair, whatever it may be, that’s my life.”
Yes, it is his life. And it’s certainly fair for fans and media to snap pictures when an uber-celebrity is on the scene. He gets that. But what’s not fair is to assume that he’s somehow not serious about his job just because he didn’t voluntarily lock himself in a Berea film room for three straight days.
Yet here we are, with ultra-obsessed local and national media members either suggesting or outright accusing the kid of being undisciplined, undedicated, unfocused, or unmotivated.
And that’s unacceptable.
It might serve us all well to remember that it’s May. This is not September, after the season has started. This is not a long weekend after a Thursday prime-time game, and it’s not an in-season bye week. This is the off-season. A time when players are actually allowed to enjoy themselves socially or otherwise before training camp starts this summer and “stuff gets real.”
Does anyone honestly think that if any other first-round draft pick in this year’s rookie class — including top overall pick Jadaveon Clowney — would have turned up in Vegas over Memorial Day weekend, with or without Rob Gronkowski at his side, that anyone would question his dedication? Of course not.
But then again, Jadaveon is not Johnny Football.
“I don’t live my life according to you guys,” Manziel stated, subtly admonishing the media for their obsession with his down-time travel plans. “I’m going to live my life to the fullest, and stay committed to this game and what I need to be doing here.”
Scoreboard: Manziel.
Still, with local and national media looking for every possible angle they can find to report on this kid, and with the omnipresent social media crowd with hair-trigger fingers poised on their camera phones, this guy won’t be able to blow his nose or visit the bathroom without someone critiquing his technique.
And God help him when he has his first three-interception game, because the moment he doesn’t play like a 10-time Super Bowl champion on any given Sunday, someone will post a snapshot of him at dinner the Friday before with a wine glass in front of him. He will then be accused of being a party animal, an alcoholic, and a spoiled punk who isn’t dedicated to his craft, thereby costing the Browns and their long-suffering fans a chance to win.
“If I want to go out and have some fun, and it doesn’t hinder what my main goals in life are, then I don’t really care what anybody has to say,” Manziel repeated.
Well he should probably care what some people have to say: His teammates. And just as he will be expected to whenever Manziel is under center, left tackle Joe Thomas has already started protecting the rookie QB: “He’s a 21-year-old kid in the off-season,” Thomas said. “I don’t’ think anybody has any issues with it.” Baited by a reporter asking if Manziel’s trip put his “commitment” into question, Thomas clarified: “You can be committed seven days a week and still have fun.”
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Bob Frantz hosts “The Bob Frantz Show” on WTAM-AM 1100 from 7 p.m. to midnight weeknights, and following Cavaliers, Indians and Browns games.

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Reach the author at frantz.media@yahoo.com. Follow Bob on Twitter: @BobFrantz80.